Bab 1: The Cursed Princess
"Isn't she the youngest princess? The cursed one? Look… Her eyes have different colors."
Mineah pursed her lips at the murmurs that filled the huge hall of the castle and kept up her confident composure. She held her head high and walked into the hall along with her father, His Majesty King Stephan of Ebodia.
Even from where she stood, she could sense every pair of judgemental eyes that was on her. She nonchalantly ignored them all, of course.
After all, they were right… She was cursed to remain untainted forever. Any man who would touch her would meet a fatal end. And as if that was not enough, she was bound to bring death to herself and the world the moment the moon turned red.
However, no one knew about it except her and their kingdom's Seer, Beirut, who had seen how she was cursed in his visions and dreams. Mineah herself also saw those premonitions in her dreams when she was a child.
'What is she doing? Why is she covering her face? Does she think she's the bride?'
'Why is she even here? Is she trying to ruin such an auspicious occasion?!'
Mineah took a deep breath, unfazed by the rude comments they thought about her. They didn't know she could hear their thoughts just by looking into their eyes, and she had no intention of letting them find out.
While a few thought her eyes to be an anomaly, many others believed it was a sign that she was cursed. They weren't wrong. Her eyes gave her powers no mere mortal should have. She could read minds with her left eye and compel people with her right. But her frail body was already feeling the strain from using her abilities.
Shaking her head slightly and breaking eye contact, Mineah sighed as she finally settled into her seat. The hall had a main throne for her father and another, conspicuously empty, to his right.
She sat on the left of the main throne. The huge hall had two long tables on either side along with one grand chair for each. While one side was filled with guests from the Valcrez Kingdom, the other side was still empty, reserved for another powerful ruler from the Cordon Kingdom.
The occasion was to finalize the alliance between Ebodia and the Valcrez Kingdom through marriage. Though the alliance already has a written agreement, today is the day it turned into reality. She could only wonder how they would react once they heard what her father was about to say.
"Your Majesty, King Stephan, where is Princess Xenia?" a man with red eyes and gray hair, politely enquired. He was the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Valcrez, Chancellor Abel. "She's the bride who is supposed to wed to our King, correct?"
"My oldest daughter… Xenia… is missing…" her father weakly answered.
Almost immediately, outrage filled the insides of the Great Hall. But before anyone could voice out their negative thoughts, the door suddenly swung open. Her brother Ezekiel entered the hall to deliver the news about Helion's armies spotted heading towards their kingdom came.
What her father had feared most after all these years… It was finally happening… A war against the most bloodthirsty and heinous of known kingdoms.
"As you see, our Kingdom is now facing a war against Helion," her father announced as if to regain the attention of the crowd before them. "It might be best if we postponed the marriage ceremony today."
"I beg to disagree, Your Majesty. I believe this is even more reason to proceed with the marriage ceremony. We must secure the alliance between our kingdoms, especially now that your kingdom will be at war," A pale woman with straight golden blond hair insisted.
Mineah identified the woman who spoke as Ezme, the only sister of the King of Valcrez. Mineah had previously studied everything pertaining to the Kingdom of Valcrez to prepare for her plans, so she made no mistake.
"I don't mean to be rude, but do you really think you humans can win against the Demon King whose armies are ten folds stronger than yours?" Ezme continued. "Yes, you have mages, but will they be enough to win this war? We don't want your kingdom to be wiped out in just a day. It will be a pity… And must I remind you that you came asking for this alliance and not us?! We didn't travel and cross the Miran Ocean all the way here for nothing!"
"But how can we proceed with the wedding when my daughter has gone missing?" King Stephan burst out.
"Father," Mineah called to her father in her usual soft and sweet voice.
Her father turned to her, which made her notice how his lips were pursed. She smiled behind the veil covering her lips, making sure that the smile was carried to her eyes and not just her lips. She gave him a knowing nod. It was time to carry out her plan.
Seeing her response, King Stephan frowned deeply before closing his eyes. He then quickly opened them once more as he turned to look at their guests from the Kingdom of Valcrez. "M-my…"
But he stalled, unable to say the words like Mineah had expected.
Seeing this, she let out a deep sigh before she spoke, "As my father has said, my sister is missing, which means that the marriage will not happen today. However, given the circumstances and your insistence on proceeding with the marriage, if you allow it, I will willingly replace my sister and marry your King to finalize this marriage alliance."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Eustoma_Reyna
Eustoma_Reyna May 1, 2023 Author's Note:
Thank you so much for the read. Please don't forget to add this book to your library and keep your notification open for updates. I hope you will continue to read forward and stay with me 'till the end. I will do my best to keep you well entertained in this whole new journey with me.
PS. I would love to see and read all your comments and book reviews soon guys. Keep safe everyone and have fun reading... *wink*
Yours truly,
Author Eustoma_Reyna
Bab 2: The Vision
Murmurs descended the hall. Shrugging half-heartedly, Mineah slowly darted her eyes toward the owner of the only voice that mattered between these discussions… The man that her eyes were trying hard not to look at from the moment she entered the hall. The man of the hour, whose mere presence screamed supremacy despite his silence. The man who was set to marry her older sister Xenia today, the reclusive King of Valcrez, Nikolai Ichor.
Mineah gulped at how intensely King Nikolai stared into her eyes. Her blue eye could compel individuals, but it felt like nothing against his amber eyes, which seemed to hypnotize anyone who looked into them.
She knew the logical thing to do was to look away and avoid his stare, but her being her, she did the opposite. She held his gaze, trying to read his thoughts. Surprisingly, she could hear nothing. His gaze seemed like an endless abyss, not giving away a single thing.
Frowning, she wondered, 'Is he really that powerful? Can he shield himself from telepathy?'
"This is unacceptable! You must do something, Your Majesty!" came the cries of the Valcrez guests, which snapped her out of her trance.
With King Nikolai's eyes still fixed on her, he slowly parted his lips and calmly spoke, "Surround the whole of Castle Ebodia this instant. From now on, no one will enter or leave without my permission…"
"What do you think you're doing?! This is my kingdom!" her father roared.
What followed was the sharp sounds of various knights attempting to unsheathe their swords. Looking at their knights though, all of them seemed to be struggling to move. In her seat, Mineah felt great energy beginning to cloud the great hall. Someone was using a powerful spell to hold back their knights!
'Could it be him?!' she pondered as she sneaked a glance at the Vampire King.
She had to do something to counter that spell but she was unsure if it was the right thing to do. Contemplating, she turned to her kingdom's Seer, Beirut.
Although deemed the weakest kingdom because of the human residents, Ebodia was still blessed by the Heavens with a powerful Seer. Their kingdom's Seer had the gift to see the future in all its possibilities.
For centuries, Ebodia's fated Seer had helped them reach the heights that it's currently at, keeping their kingdom from falling apart. Seer Beirut simply slightly shook his head, subtly signaling her not to do anything. Mineah, who was on the edge of her seat, sighed deeply and sank into her seat in understanding.
On the other hand, the Vampire King simply shrugged and said, "You didn't keep your end of the bargain, King Stephan. Your castle will be surrounded by my men until we come to a new agreement."
"This is unacceptable! How could you expect us to settle for the second daughter when you promised us your eldest?!" one of the Valcrez Ministers pointed out.
"Isn't she the Cursed Princess?! Are you belittling our Kingdom by offering her to us?!"
They were right. Who would want a Cursed Princess like her to be their Queen? Mineah struggled but still had a calm face and held her head high. Seer Beirut had already seen her getting married to the Vampire King in his vision. She had to trust him.
Mineah bit her inner cheek upon recalling what she had done the moment she found out about Seer's vision regarding her curses.
The day Seer Beirut saw her marrying the Vampire King, was the same day the Kingdom of Valcrez demanded her sister Xenia as a bride. Despite Xenia's hatred of the match, she didn't want to run away, claiming that it would be too selfish for the kingdom.
So Mineah used her right eye to compel her sister to follow what her heart truly desired, which was to run away from the arranged marriage. She had to make the vision come true, no matter what. It was all for the sake of their people's future, and her own.
According to Seer Beirut, the only way for Mineah to break the curse was to succeed in capturing the heart of the King of Valcrez before the moon turned red. Once she did that, she would live, and millions of her people would not suffer disaster.
Thus, Mineah willingly offered herself in place of her sister.
"We're wasting our time discussing this when there's an ongoing threat to our kingdoms! My son just left for war with the bulk of our military, and here you are taking advantage of our weakened defenses when you should be assisting us!" her father roared, snapping Mineah back to her senses.
"The conditions of the alliance are only binding once the marriage has taken place," Chancellor Abel pointed out.
"My second daughter is more than willing to take her sister's place!" King Stephan pointed out.
From then on, the discussions just went in circles, each person talking over the other trying to prove their own points. The Vampire King's companions were all adamant against her substituting her sister as his bride. Unfortunately, all she could do was watch the discussion furtively, squinting her eyes every once in a while holding herself back from interrupting.
Until a few moments later, the guard outside the door announced something unexpected to the Great Hall.
"Princess Xenia is currently outside asking permission to enter the hall…"
King Stephan quickly raised his voice at the guard, "What are you waiting for?! Let my daughter in this instant!"
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